Crystal Palace will look to capitalise on the collapse of Davide Santon's prospective move to Sunderland by striking a deal to bring the Italian to Selhurst Park, according to reports cited by the Chronicle.

Inter Milan full-back Santon looked set to move to the Stadium of Light last week before the deal broke down in the late stages.

The Black Cats surprisingly announced that they had pulled out of the deal to bring the ex-Newcastle United man back to England, something reputedly caused from the Inter end.

The Chronicle report that Crystal Palace, who allegedly had held a previous interest before it looked as though Santon was headed to Wearside, will now step up their pursuit of the 25-year-old.

Palace are looking to strengthen their defence after the exits of Brede Hangeland, Adrian Mariappa, and Paddy McCarthy this summer following the expiration of their contracts.

Though they recently spent £12 million on West Ham United centre-back James Tomkins, the full-back positions are an area that Alan Pardew believes still needs strengthening.

The Eagles currently have just Joel Ward and Martin Kelly who count right-back as their primary position, whilst Pape Souare is virtually unchallenged in the left-back role.

Santon is naturally a left-back, although he can also play on the right, and would add another strong option to those positions for Pardew ahead of next season.

The Italian international played 94 times in three-and-a-half years at Newcastle and would add experience of both the Premier League and Serie A to Palace's squad.

Tom Nightingale

After starting to write about football due to lack of any great ability on the pitch, Tom is an NCTJ-qualified sports reporter who has written for Swansea City, the Birmingham Mail, and numerous other publications. An avid Aston Villa fan, he still hasn't got over them not turning up in the 2015 FA Cup final.